Department for Education

Asylum: Children

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Nash on 1 November (WS231) that the new safeguarding strategy will not be published until May 2017, what specific interim measures have been put in place to ensure that the wellbeing of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is safeguarded.

Lord Nash: The Government already has in place a comprehensive framework for safeguarding children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children. We have been working with local authorities, non-government organisations and other public bodies over a number of months to make sure unaccompanied children receive the immediate support they need. At the beginning of October, new training commenced for foster carers and support workers looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, and in the coming weeks we will assess what the additional training needs are. We are providing ongoing responsive advice and guidance to local authorities working with children being transferred under new legislation and we are working with key partners to increase the number of suitable placements for them. The safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied children will bring together the extensive programme of work already underway, as well as set out areas where we will go further by building on existing good practice. We will consult local authorities, non-government organisations and other public bodies to ensure the strategy is comprehensive and supports the best outcomes for unaccompanied children.

Brexit: Education

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 November (HL2741), whether they intend to provide schools and other educational establishments with information about the benefits of Brexit.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education does not send political material to schools: it is up to schools to decide what teaching material to use, tailored to their pupils’ needs. Schools are required by the Education Act 1996 to ensure the balanced treatment of political issues, including the UK’s membership of the European Union.

Schools: Census

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Nash on 31 October (HL Deb, col 510), whether they have given any further consideration to allowing parents the ability to retract information on the birthplace and nationality of their children from the school census.

Lord Nash: The collection of pupil-level data via the school census supports the drive to raise standards, provide accurate targeted funding, and the monitoring and development of policy. Without this evidence and data, we cannot have a clear picture of how the school system is working or ensure that no groups of children are missing out on the education they deserve. The new data items on nationality, country of birth and English proficiency will be used to help us better understand how children, with for example, English as an additional language, perform in terms of their broader education, and to assess and monitor the scale and impact immigration may be having on the schools’ sector. The collection of these data items is completely optional and parents are under no obligation to provide it if they do not want to. This information is collected via the school census on a termly basis. If parents have previously provided this information to schools and now wish to retract it, they should inform the school of this decision. For such cases, schools can update their systems to show a parent has refused to provide the information and this will be collected within the next school census, which is due on the 19th January. Where a parent has exercised this right, the Department will remove any information collected on country of birth and nationality during the autumn census.

Social Mobility

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment have they made of the recently published State of the nation 2016 report by the Social Mobility Commission.

Lord Nash: We welcome the Commission’s report, published last week. It is a wide ranging, valuable piece of work that draws out some important findings. The Commission’s approach to social mobility is in line with work going on in the Department: looking at the opportunities of a group beyond the most disadvantaged; solidly focusing on areas of the country which are falling behind; and addressing wider obstacles to opportunity, like the need for high quality advice. Officials are engaging with the Commission’s findings as part of this wider work programme. Opportunity Areas, launched last month, will be the vanguard of our approach to social mobility in areas where there are the greatest challenges and the fewest opportunities and will benefit from our energy, ideas and resources to address the barriers to social mobility. These areas are all social mobility coldspots identified by the Commission. The Commission points out that the barriers to social mobility will not be fixed overnight. It will require long term effort from the Government, business, civil society and communities to ensure that talent and hard work leads to success, wherever you live or whatever your background.

Ministry of Justice

Immigration: Appeals

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 8 November (HL2645) about appeals made by litigants in person, when they stopped recording those figures, and why.

Lord Henley: In the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) an appellant can be represented by any person not prohibited from doing so by section 84 of the Immigration Act 1999. Therefore management information does not cover whether a person had legal representation, as requested in HL2645.

Prisons: Prescription Drugs

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training is given to prison officers, in addition to methods of control, in the care and treatment of offenders who suffer from dependence on, and withdrawal from, prescription drugs.

Lord Keen of Elie: The effects of prescription drugs is outlined in the Prison Officers Entry Level Training (POELT) substance misuse module, which explains how mood, behaviour and the body is affected as a result of taking excessive quantities of them. Officers are trained in First on Scene where they learn how to react to a situation, assess and manage it to ensure a safe outcome. An officer is not trained or expected to make a medical diagnosis but they have a duty of care to the offender and would need to refer them to a healthcare assistant if they are displaying symptoms of dependence or withdrawal from drugs. An officer is trained to recognise these symptoms and learns the relevant treatment and recovery services which are available to an offender. The primary care team undertake an initial assessment to determine immediate risk and healthcare needs; including the assessment of any substance misuse needs. Those identified as having a need are referred to substance misuse services for clinical management. This may include prescribed medication for detoxification or maintenance. Various long-term interventions are available to the offender to help them recover such as accredited and non-accredited rehabilitative programmes, structured psychosocial interventions, access to mutual aid groups, and life skills work. For note, the responsibility for commissioning and provision of health treatment, including substance misuse services, lies with NHS England and NHS Local Health Boards in Wales.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords: Access

Lord Trefgarne: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what measures are available to ensure that access to the House of Lords is maintained when road works or other obstructions occur.

Lord McFall of Alcluith: There is frequent and direct contact between Black Rod’s department and the Police, and with the local authorities and Transport for London, for appropriate arrangements to avoid or mitigate any predicted or potential disruption of Members’ access to the House.

Ministry of Defence

Middle East: Peacekeeping Operations

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the names and firms of all lawyers involved in pursuing claims against soldiers and former soldiers for alleged abuses in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Earl Howe: It would not be appropriate to provide the names of individual lawyers acting on behalf of claimants. However, it is a matter of public record that the vast majority of claims alleging abuses by British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq have been brought by Leigh Day Solicitors and Public Interest Lawyers Ltd (PIL) law firms. PIL closed earlier this year after the Ministry of Defence triggered an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Army: Females

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications or other expressions of interest have been received from female soldiers for ground close combat roles.

Earl Howe: On 8 July 2016, the former Prime Minister announced that the previous exclusions on women serving in Ground Close Combat roles in the Royal Marines, Royal Armoured Corps (RAC), Infantry and Royal Air Force Regiment were being lifted. The implementation is in a phased approach over the next three years, beginning with the RAC which is open now with other roles opening from 2018. As at 9 November, 70 applications to join the Army have been received from females expressing a preference for service as a soldier in the RAC, and less than five female soldiers have applied to transfer to the RAC. Officers do not make an application to join a specific cap badge before enlistment, as selection for regiments takes place during the first and second terms at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). Based on the one intake at RMAS since the exclusion was lifted, less than five potential female officers have expressed an interest in serving in the RAC. Please note that all figures have been rounded to the nearest five as a means of disclosure control to preserve anonymity.

Home Office

Police

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police officers were in post in each police force in England and Wales in each year from 1996 until the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police community support officers were in post in each police force in England and Wales in each year from 2008 until the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civilian staff were in post in each police force in England and Wales in each year from 1996 until the last year for which figures are available.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office publishes data on the police workforce, broken down by worker type and police force, as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ series of statistical bulletins.The attached tables, which are too large to include in the answer contain data on the number of full time equivalent police officers and police staff in each force as at 31 March in each year between 1996 and 2016, and the number of full time equivalent Police Community Support Officers as at 31 March in each year between 2008 and 2016.As HMIC has made clear, there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police or between numbers and the quantity of service provided.



Table - PQ HL2744-HL2745 - HL2746
(Excel SpreadSheet, 32.63 KB)

Radicalism: Young People

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had, or plan to have, with the Muslim Council of Britain on achieving a common strategy to combat the radicalisation of young people.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Prevent is a key part of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST). It safeguards and supports vulnerable individuals to stop them becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Prevent is working and works best when delivered in partnership with communities, civil society groups and individuals.We work with a wide range of organisations to prevent people from becoming radicalised. These are organisations prepared to show leadership, point to solutions and challenge and confront terrorist and extremist ideologies whatever form they take.

Migrant Workers: Teachers

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to guarantee the residence status of non-UK EU nationals who are currently employed as teachers of modern foreign languages in British schools and universities, following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the predicted shortfall of modern foreign languages teachers by 2020, what measures they will take, in particular relating to residency status, to continue to attract EU nationals to such posts following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: While the UK remains in the EU, EU national teaching staff will continue to have the same rights and status that they had before the referendum. The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living and working in the UK after the UK leaves the EU, and the only circumstances in which that wouldn’t be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU Member States were not protected in return.There are a number of options as to how EU migration might work once we have left. We are considering various options and it would be wrong to set out further positions at this stage.

Migrant Camps: Dunkirk

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to ask the government of France not to close or reduce numbers in La Linière Camp, Grande Synthe, Dunkirk, until alternative safe provision has been made for children and vulnerable adults now there, including pregnant women, the disabled and elderly; and what steps they are taking to ensure that people in those categories are admitted to the camp despite the overall reduction in numbers.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Whilst both the UK and France share concerns about the wellbeing of migrants in France and continue to work in close co-operation, the management of and decision on whether or not to close the migrant camp in Dunkirk is a matter for the French authorities.

Public Sector: Interpreters

Baroness Coussins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to guarantee the residency status of non-UK EU nationals currently working as public service interpreters in the criminal justice system and the NHS, following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living and working in the UK after the UK leaves the EU, and the only circumstances in which that wouldn’t be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU Member States were not protected in return.

Fracking: Protest

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many regional Counter Terrorism Units have been involved in monitoring anti-fracking protests, and how many arrests for a serious crime have been made by each unit as a result of such monitoring activity.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to the police about the use of covert infiltration of anti-fracking groups.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Prevent training includes reference to participation in anti-fracking groups.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to the police about the exchange of information between the police and representatives of the coal and gas industry.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government does not hold information on the monitoring by police Counter-Terrorism Units of anti-fracking activity, or the number of arrests made by each Unit associated with any such activity.The Government has not given specific guidance to the police on the use of undercover officers in anti-fracking groups. This is an operational matter. However, the police use of undercover officers and other covert sources is regulated by Part 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and subject to guidance in the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Code of Practice published under section 71 of RIPA.Prevent training does not include any reference to participation in anti-fracking groups.The Government has not issued guidance to the police regarding exchanges of information between the police and the coal and gas industry. The National Police Chiefs Council has issued guidance to forces on policing linked to onshore oil and gas operations.

HM Treasury

Banks: Regulation

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the statement by the US President-elect that he intends to reinstate the Glass-Steagall rules, what assessment they have made of the impact this would have on the UK banking system.

Lord Young of Cookham: The government monitors the financial regulation policies of our international partners, including the US, as they develop.In the UK, from the 1st of January 2019, our ring-fencing regime will require structural separation of core retail banking from investment banking for UK banks with retail deposits of more than £25 billion.

Bank of England

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the Bank of England should be independent of the Government.

Lord Young of Cookham: A comprehensive Review of the Monetary Policy Framework was published in 2013, considering the benefits and costs of a number of different monetary policy frameworks. The review concluded that operational independence has helped improve credibility and accountability of monetary policy, leading to stable inflation and inflation expectations, and in turn macroeconomic stability. The current remit for the Monetary Policy Committee reflects the assessment set out in the 2013 Review, which reaffirms the Bank of England’s operation independence and a flexible inflation targeting framework.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 9 November (HL2723), where children born abroad to British citizens without a property in the UK would be registered to vote.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: As set out in the policy statement published on 7 October 2016, overseas voting rights will be extended to any British citizen who has been previously resident or registered to vote in the UK. As such, under the Government’s proposals any British citizen who has not been previously resident or registered to vote in the UK will not be able to register as an overseas elector.

Electoral Register

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase the number of eligible citizens registered to vote.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The Minister for the Constitution is currently undertaking a series of visits to all of the UK’s nations and regions to hear, first hand, the challenges facing local communities to ensure we have a democracy that works for everyone. The insight gained from these visits will help inform the Government’s democratic engagement activities with under-registered and vulnerable groups, as well as overseas electors. We are also piloting improvements to the annual canvass process that are designed to make the system more efficient and effective. These pilots will also have the effect of allowing Electoral Registration Officers to focus resources on under-registered groups.Our comprehensive activity builds on steps we have already taken to make applying to register to vote quicker and easier.

Department of Health

Surgery

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many centres carry out complex thoracic surgery in NHS England; what is their annual procedure volume; and when they will publish risk normalised outcome data for those centres.

Lord Prior of Brampton: There are 28 centres undertaking complex thoracic procedures. Complex thoracic surgery involves a range of procedures, and therefore there is no overarching outcomes data set, only procedure-specific data. The predominant procedure is lung resection. The latest outcomes data for this is available in the National Lung Cancer Audit annual report 2015 (for the audit period 2014), which is attached.



National Lung Cancer Report
(PDF Document, 3.15 MB)

Health Services: Travellers

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 November (HL2865), what steps have been taken to encourage joined up working by local authorities, the National Health Service and responsible health agencies, and local public health services to improve the health outcomes of Gypsies and Travellers.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The NHS Five Year Forward View (2014) sets out the ambition to improve the nation’s health and reduce inequalities, including among the most vulnerable groups. Through the inequality duties introduced through the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, local areas must have regard to inequalities in access to, and the outcomes from, National Health Service services in developing their plans. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), health and wellbeing boards and the rest of the local health system work together to undertake joint strategic needs assessments of local health needs and develop strategic plans, working with key stakeholders to deliver outcomes and reduce health inequalities.   All CCGs are provided with local and national data from Public Health England and NHS England to support the planning and commissioning process. These tools help to identify differences in access to services and health outcomes across the local population, including among vulnerable groups. For example, on-line resources available to local areas include Commissioning for Value Packs, the NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare, and the Marmot indicator local authority profiles. Guidance on addressing the health needs of vulnerable groups including Gypsies and Travellers was developed under the DH-sponsored inclusion health programme. It included Inclusion of Gypsy Traveller health needs in Joint Strategic Needs Assessments: A review, a report compiled by Friends, Families and Travellers (2015), Standards for commissioners and service providers, by the Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health (2013) and Improving access to health care for Gypsies and Travellers, homeless people and sex workers, by Royal College of General Practitioners (2013). Copies of these documents are attached. NHS England published guidance for the service on the rights of vulnerable groups in registering with GPs to reduce the risk of exacerbating health inequalities for vulnerable groups, Patient Registration: Standard Operating Principles for Primary Medical Care (General Practice), NHS England, 2015. A copy has been placed in the library. 



Improving access to healthcare
(PDF Document, 2.9 MB)




Standards for commissioners
(PDF Document, 554.28 KB)




Inclusion of Gypsy Traveller health needs
(PDF Document, 1.84 MB)

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Lord Porter of Spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards they have put in place to ensure that children and young people’s mental health Local Transformation Plans are delivered, and that the associated funding that had been made available for the plans is being spent appropriately.

Lord Porter of Spalding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Health and Wellbeing Boards have been given oversight locally of the delivery of children and young people’s mental health Local Transformation Plans.

Lord Prior of Brampton: In 2016-17, children and young people’s mental health services transformation has been monitored as part of mainstream NHS England planning processes and through the CCG improvement and assessment framework 2016/17 a copy of which is attached. As part of the 2016-17 financial reporting planning process, programme level spend including children and young people’s mental health spend has been monitored routinely throughout the year to ensure that the additional money is spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators will be met. From 2016-17, children and young people’s mental health has been mainstreamed as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle so that Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) are integrated into the wider Sustainability and Transformation Planning process. The Department sets specific objectives for NHS England in the annual mandate, which reflect the priorities for the health and care system. The mandate for 2016-17 sets objectives to 2020 and it makes it clear that the Government expects to see a transformation of children and young people’s mental health services. LTPs should be refreshed, agreed with the relevant local health and wellbeing board and published annually. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) were asked to update and publish plans by October 2016. Publication of the plans, including sign-off from health and wellbeing boards, is being assured through NHS England’s planning and assurance process. Local commissioners, such as CCGs, are best placed to know the needs of their local population and to make decisions about spending. Through the shared planning guidance we are incentivising CCGs to prioritise key issues like children and young people’s mental health transition and improving access. The publication of the CCG improvement and assessment framework 2016/2017 and the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health dashboard are designed to improve transparency and accountability of CCGs to both NHS England and to the public. The dashboard includes CCG level information on planned mental health spending.



CCG IAF
(PDF Document, 458.43 KB)

Asylum: Children

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what long-term mental health service provision they have made for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The key mechanism to deliver the vision set out in Future in mind: Promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing (March 2015), to transform children and young people’s mental health, is the Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) that all clinical commissioning groups have produced. These plans outline how local areas will meet the mental health needs of all their population of children and young people, including addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. LTPs are backed by £1.5 billion of Government funding and should cover the full spectrum of mental health issues: from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems including addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, such as unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. A copy of Future in mind is attached. From 2016-17, children and young people’s mental health is being brought into the normal NHS England planning cycle so that LTPs are integrated into the wider Sustainability and Transformation Planning process. However, they will continue to be published annually.Most unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are likely to be looked after by local authorities. An Expert Working Group (EWG) has been established to lead the development of models of care for looked-after children’s mental health. The group is co-chaired by Peter Fonagy and Alison O’Sullivan (The Association of Directors of Children’s Services) with members being drawn from across the health, youth justice, social care and education sectors, with input from children, young people, carers and families with experience of the care system. The scope of the EWG is to primarily focus on three main groups: looked after children, care leavers, and children who have been adopted from care or are under Special Guardianship Orders. It is anticipated that there are groups within the looked after children population with specific needs and these will be considered by the Group as the work develops (for example, unaccompanied asylum seekers, children on remand, children returning to their birth parents). The Group has now met three times, with five further meetings to come, and expects to make their recommendations in October next year.



Future in Mind
(PDF Document, 1.65 MB)